Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the Minister of State's amendment No. 65 goes some way towards dealing with the issue. I have raised some of the points relating to this matter previously. The word "community" is in there somewhere as well. The point is that the plans of the technological university, TU, to provide programmes of education and training should meet the needs of citizens - Deputy Burton made a fair point about that word - business, enterprise and the professions. I am a member of a profession. Where do the arts and culture, particularly courses not of a business, enterprise or professional nature, fit in?

I will not press my amendment because it includes a flaw but I will speak on it. In the amendment, I have added in the plans of the TU "to retain, maintain and develop the existing campuses of its applicant institutes including but not limited to its existing programmes of education, training and research". I have not taken account of campuses that may well be closing in the city of Dublin but I want to ensure that there is some protection for Blanchardstown, Tallaght and the regional institutions. This is my party's main point.

In this amendment, I am probably too restrictive in the context of the programmes relating to education, training and research.

I do not want to legislate to retain an exact range of courses as universities should have the academic freedom to provide the courses it wants to provide. Can the Minister of State assure us that if an institution becomes a TU, a multidisciplinary range of courses will be available? Can she assure us that institutions such as that in Blanchardstown will not turn into a specialised college for a specialised subject but will be similar to now, with a range of courses provided to meet the needs of the community in the surrounding area?

Paragraph (g) of amendment No. 64, to which I will return on Report Stage, concerns what we want to be included in the strategic plan. It is proposed that the plans of the TU will ensure the geographic names of its various campuses are maintained in its nomenclature relating to each campus. This means the Blanchardstown institution will be called the TU for Dublin at Blanchardstown, with the other the TU for Dublin at Tallaght, similar the TUs in Tralee or Cork. This is the case for the various campuses of the University of Ulster. Deputy Lahart raised the issue in respect of Tallaght and pointed out that some people want it to be called TU Tallaght. That is not going to happen because it is going to be part of one body. The name "Tallaght" should be retained somewhere, however.